TL;DR
- Complete main story and defeat Elite Four to unlock Master Trainers
- Defeat any six Master Trainers to make Red appear at Indigo Plateau
- Red’s team consists of six level 85 Pokemon including Mega Venusaur
- Earn Battle Master title after victory for online battle prestige
- Red can be rebattled by defeating Elite Four again after initial victory
To become the ultimate Pokemon Master, you must overcome the most legendary trainers from Kanto’s history.
Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee draw significant inspiration from Pokemon Yellow but implement notable departures from the classic Game Boy title. Instead of controlling Red with Blue as your rival, these Switch titles introduce a completely new protagonist accompanied by an original rival character on their journey toward mastery. This fresh perspective provides modern players with a unique experience while honoring the franchise’s roots.
Despite their reduced spotlight roles, Red and Blue maintain significant presence throughout the adventure. Recent gameplay reveals confirm both iconic trainers appear during specific story moments, joined by Green—the female trainer featured in original Pokemon Red and Blue artwork who now appears as a fully realized character.

All three legacy trainers become available for battles at different progression points, with Red representing the most challenging encounter. While Blue and Green will issue challenges at predetermined story milestones, accessing Red requires fulfilling specific post-game conditions. Strategic preparation notes and potential spoilers follow below.
To challenge the legendary Pokemon trainer Red, players must first conquer the primary narrative by defeating the Elite Four. Achieving Pokemon League Champion status triggers the appearance of specialized NPCs called Master Trainers throughout Kanto region.
Each Master Trainer focuses exclusively on a single Pokemon species, requiring you to defeat them using that same creature in one-on-one combat. These experts live up to their title by presenting substantial difficulty—their specialized Pokemon possess maximized statistics and strategic move sets designed to counter standard tactics.
Before Red becomes accessible, you need to triumph over any six different Master Trainers in your version of Let’s Go Pikachu or Eevee. Accomplishing this milestone causes Red to materialize outside Pokemon League at Indigo Plateau, where initiating conversation starts the epic confrontation.
Red fields a strategically diverse team featuring Pikachu, Snorlax, Arcanine, Lapras, Machamp, and Mega Venusaur—all trained to level 85. This necessitates bringing your most powerful and well-balanced team to withstand the challenge.
Team Composition Breakdown:
– Pikachu: Fast electric-type with coverage moves
– Snorlax: Bulky normal-type with high HP and attack
– Arcanine: Fire-type with strong physical attacks
– Lapras: Water/ice-type with diverse special moves
– Machamp: Fighting-type with devastating close-combat capabilities
– Mega Venusaur: Grass/poison-type with enhanced defenses and special attack
Recommended Counter Strategies:
For Mega Venusaur, employ powerful psychic or flying-type attacks from Pokemon like Alakazam or Dragonite. Against Lapras, utilize electric or grass-type moves from Jolteon or Venusaur. Machamp falls quickly to psychic-types, while Arcanine struggles against water and ground-types. Consider consulting our Weapons Unlock guide for strategic team building approaches that apply to Pokemon team composition as well.
Victory against Red grants the prestigious Battle Master designation, visible to opponents during Link Battle matchups. This achievement demonstrates your mastery of Pokemon training and battling mechanics.
Following his defeat, Red departs the area but remains available for subsequent rematches. To battle him again, simply defeat the Elite Four once more and return to Indigo Plateau. This repeatable challenge allows for continuous team testing and experience farming.
Pokemon: Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee remain Nintendo Switch exclusives that serve as excellent entry points to the franchise. However, we recommend reviewing essential tips before beginning your journey. Our comprehensive Complete Guide offers additional strategic frameworks applicable to Pokemon mastery. For optimal team building approaches, our Class Guide provides additional insights into role specialization that translate well to Pokemon training methodologies.
Action Checklist
- Complete main story and defeat Elite Four to become Champion
- Locate and defeat six different Master Trainers across Kanto region
- Travel to Indigo Plateau and speak with Red to initiate battle
- Prepare level 75+ team with type coverage against Red’s diverse roster
- Defeat Red to earn Battle Master title for online prestige
No reproduction without permission:SeeYouSoon Game Club » How To Battle Red In Pokemon: Let’s Go Pikachu And Eevee Complete guide to finding and defeating Red in Pokemon Let's Go with battle strategies and team preparation
